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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a committee
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — what's left
  5. file — a tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rest — a break
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. root — of a word
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. root — of a plant
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. board — to get on
  20. root — the cause
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spell — letters

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