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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pop — to visit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — a subject
  13. pop — music
  14. field — farmland
  15. roll — a cake
  16. key — the most important part
  17. roll — a list
  18. pop — soda
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — rain
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bulb — for light
  24. key — in music

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