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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rule — government
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — a position
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bass — low music
  16. craft — a skill
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — letters
  24. craft — boats

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