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 120 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: game · land · pitcher · pit · press · rash · chest · fork

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. press — to push
  3. pit — a hole
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. land — ground
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fork — in a road
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. land — a country
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — in a race
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — a match
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rash — a series
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — a garden tool

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