ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cue — for pool
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — a match
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cue — a hint
  13. squash — to crush
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — a trail
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. march — music
  18. clip — a video
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. court — of law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — to cut
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com