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 124 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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 — in baseball
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — for light
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bat — the animal
  19. game — a match
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. row — a quarrel
  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