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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. ground — a position
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — a trail
  9. game — a match
  10. row — a line
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. row — to paddle
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. game — wild animals
  23. foot — a measure
  24. row — a quarrel

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