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 124 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. spell — magic
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — to come down
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. game — a match
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kid — child
  24. bound — tied together

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