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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. march — the month
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — an illness
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spell — magic
  16. deal — to handle
  17. spell — a short time
  18. march — music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. sharp — clever

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