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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. court — of a king
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. scale — in music
  15. bound — certain
  16. game — wild animals
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. game — a match
  20. court — of law
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chip — to eat
  24. scale — size or range

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