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: pitch · sharp · hand · wind · wake · chair · saw · fork

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — a trail
  4. hand — in cards
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — help
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fork — to eat with

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