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: rock · hand · game · scale · march · chip · lie · cold

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. game — wild animals
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — help
  5. chip — for betting
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a match
  12. rock — a stone
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rock — music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rock — to move gently

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