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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. file — a document
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — the season
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. squash — to crush
  17. perch — the fish
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spring — of water
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. file — a tool
  24. fork — in a road

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