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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. land — ground
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — a match
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — a country
  12. wake — a trail
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. board — a committee
  17. fall — to drop
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. foot — a measure
  21. board — to get on
  22. land — to come down
  23. fall — the season
  24. pitcher — a jug

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