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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. roll — a cake
  3. shower — rain
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — the amount
  7. track — a song
  8. band — a music group
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. track — to keep track
  14. roll — a list
  15. band — a ring
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — happy
  18. wake — a trail
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. track — a path

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