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: mark · swing · sharp · plane · wound · game · present · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fine — all right
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. plane — a tool
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mark — a grade
  15. swing — in golf
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. swing — to play on
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — music
  22. present — there
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — exactly

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