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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — for betting
  7. present — the time now
  8. game — a match
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bear — the animal
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pit — a hole
  17. snap — to click
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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