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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. present — there

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