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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cold — an illness
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lean — to bend
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spring — of water
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fine — all right
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bear — the animal
  24. sharp — clever

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