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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ground — crushed
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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