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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · game · bark · plane · kid · date · pitcher · pop

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — to tease
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — soda
  20. bark — to shout
  21. kid — child
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  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