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: pitcher · game · rest · row · clip · spell · patient · mark

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — a video
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — a break
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — for paper
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spell — letters
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — to cut

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