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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. game — a match
  11. staff — a stick
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bass — the fish
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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