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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chip — for betting
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — ground
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — a match
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. degree — an amount
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — rain

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