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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — a match
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fork — in a road
  9. ground — a position
  10. chest — a box
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. drill — the tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — a country
  17. key — in music
  18. drill — army training
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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