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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. sharp — clever
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. degree — an amount
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pit — in a race
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. degree — temperature
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. game — a match
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — rain
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fine — all right
  24. pit — a hole

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