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 120 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bat — the animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to click
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. field — for sport
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bat — for baseball

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