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: board · prune · game · dip · fork · spring · cold · chair

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. spring — a coil
  4. game — wild animals
  5. board — a committee
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. game — a match
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — in a road
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. board — to get on
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chair — a leader

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