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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. cold — an illness
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — for sport
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of a king
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a match
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. can — a tin
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — of law
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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