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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — letters
  20. field — a subject
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bark — to shout

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