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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — a match
  7. saw — the tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — a box
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cap — a lid
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. land — ground
  24. bark — of a tree

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