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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — to shout
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. can — a tin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. game — wild animals
  23. can — a tin
  24. cell — in biology

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