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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. object — an aim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. mate — a friend
  7. object — a thing
  8. pound — a weight
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mate — to breed
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spell — a short time
  21. object — to protest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mine — an explosive

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