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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. shower — to wash
  4. scale — size or range
  5. squash — to crush
  6. shower — rain
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — a container
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the sport
  15. game — a match
  16. tube — the underground
  17. land — to come down
  18. bound — tied together
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — an illness
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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