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: face · snap · can · land · field · chip · fall · game

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. field — farmland
  6. face — part of the head
  7. can — to be able to
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chip — for betting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. game — wild animals
  12. land — to come down
  13. snap — to click
  14. field — a subject
  15. face — to confront
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — a country
  18. field — for sport
  19. can — a tin
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fall — the season
  22. game — a match
  23. can — a tin
  24. chip — in a computer

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