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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — the earth
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ground — a position
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — a match
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — crushed
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bark — to shout
  20. track — a path
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fall — the season

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