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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. race — a contest
  3. saw — the tool
  4. game — a match
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. tube — a container
  7. rock — a stone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — the season
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. fall — to drop
  20. race — humankind
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fall — to drop
  24. race — the arms race

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