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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. file — a tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a document
  15. ground — a position
  16. bank — for money
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bank — for money
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bank — of a river
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — a video

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