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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to click
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. swing — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. swing — in golf
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. game — a match
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. file — a document
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. track — a path
  23. game — wild animals
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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