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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — a hat
  7. shower — rain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. roll — a list
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. squash — to crush
  14. roll — a cake
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bound — obliged
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bass — the fish
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bound — certain

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