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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. roll — a cake
  5. row — a line
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. roll — a list
  8. land — a country
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — a match
  12. row — to paddle
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — ground
  17. march — music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. field — for sport
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — a subject
  23. bass — low music
  24. march — the month

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