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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. chip — for betting
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a partner
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mate — to breed
  14. current — of water
  15. scale — in music
  16. current — electric
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. ground — crushed
  19. current — happening now
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. date — the fruit

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