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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — child
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — to tease
  9. current — of water
  10. bass — low music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. current — electric
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. game — a match
  19. current — happening now
  20. chest — of your body
  21. season — in sport
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — wild animals

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