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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. capital — a city
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. clip — for paper
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. capital — money
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — a video
  20. game — wild animals
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — to cut
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lash — to lash out

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