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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. game — a match
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ground — a position
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. mate — a partner
  23. spring — the season
  24. clip — a video

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