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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. game — a match
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mine — for digging
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rash — hasty
  18. game — wild animals
  19. board — to get on
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. racket — for tennis

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