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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chair — a leader
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — to handle
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. season — of the year
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. wound — an injury

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