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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ball — a great time
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — to go on
  6. craft — boats
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ball — a dance
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — final
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. game — a match
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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