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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rock — music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — to crush
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — the sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chest — a box
  24. cue — for pool

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