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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. roll — a cake
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. drill — army training
  7. roll — a list
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chip — for betting
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — a container
  21. shower — rain
  22. tube — the underground
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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