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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. track — a song
  6. drill — the tool
  7. track — a path
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — for digging
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. drill — army training
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lean — thin
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cold — the Cold War

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