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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. file — a tool
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chip — to eat
  8. game — wild animals
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chip — for betting
  15. game — a match
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a document
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a line of people
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a ring
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — from a university

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