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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bound — certain
  4. rest — a break
  5. bound — tied together
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bound — obliged
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. game — a match

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