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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — clever
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. board — a committee
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — child
  18. board — to get on

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