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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — to come down
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cold — not warm
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — ground
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — a country
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mark — a trace

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