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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. band — a music group
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — not warm
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a ring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. snap — to click
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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