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

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. toast — bread
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — a series
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — not warm
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. drill — army training
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. court — of law
  23. bore — to drill
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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