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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. spring — the season
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spring — of water
  23. pass — a permit
  24. scale — for weighing

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