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 124 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — the earth
  4. game — a match
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. game — wild animals
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ground — a position
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to click
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mug — to rob
  15. shower — to wash
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. net — in sport
  18. ground — crushed
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — a face
  23. scale — size or range
  24. net — for catching

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