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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — government
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rule — a law
  9. ball — a great time
  10. game — a match
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. racket — for tennis

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