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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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