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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hand — in cards
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. game — a match
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — help
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. tear — to rip
  18. swing — music
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. tear — from crying

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