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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to click
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. rest — what's left
  15. file — a document
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a line of people
  19. track — a song
  20. row — a line
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. game — a kind of play

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