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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — certain
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bound — obliged
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. can — a tin
  19. lean — thin
  20. spell — letters
  21. cold — an illness
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bat — the animal

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