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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. stock — shares
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. spell — letters
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cell — a phone
  22. land — ground
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stock — goods

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