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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fine — all right
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — child
  18. fine — high quality
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. last — final
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — finally

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