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: snap · wind · bay · wave · fork · pitcher · hand · bat

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to click
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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