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 · cue · land · file · hand · mine · game · racket

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — help
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. file — a document
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. land — a country

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