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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a ring
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a document
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. court — for sport
  11. plane — a tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of law
  18. file — a line of people
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. court — of a king
  23. file — a tool
  24. prune — to trim

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