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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. charge — electricity
  3. squash — the sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. swing — to play on
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — ground
  9. squash — to crush
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a line of people
  12. charge — in control
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — music
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. charge — a price
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. file — a tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. swing — in golf
  24. game — a kind of play

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