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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. swing — music
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mark — a grade
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. key — in music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. key — for a lock
  24. game — a match

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