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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spring — of water
  3. swing — music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hand — help
  14. spring — the season
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. swing — in golf
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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