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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bank — of a river
  6. staff — employees
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. game — a match
  23. staff — a stick
  24. craft — a skill

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