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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. current — happening now
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — a break
  7. present — there
  8. current — of water
  9. present — the time now
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mug — a face
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. current — electric
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — high quality
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — all right
  24. rest — what's left

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