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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — the earth
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. net — after costs
  6. shower — rain
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. deal — to handle
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — in sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — a position
  14. branch — a division
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — for catching
  17. band — a ring
  18. game — a match
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fork — in a road
  24. shower — to wash

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