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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. file — a document
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fork — in a road
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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