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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — army training
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a document
  12. staff — a stick
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. staff — employees
  19. plane — a tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. staff — employees
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a line of people
  24. drill — a practice

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