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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. spring — the season
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bound — certain
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pop — music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — soda
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. kid — child
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — a box

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