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 116 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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. last — final
  7. club — for dancing
  8. last — to go on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spell — letters
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — a series
  21. club — a group
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. club — for golf
  24. saw — the tool

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