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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. net — for catching
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bound — certain
  24. sharp — with an edge

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