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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — to go on
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stock — shares
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rock — music
  16. stock — goods
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rock — a stone
  20. last — finally
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. snap — to click

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