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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kid — child
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mark — a trace
  8. ground — crushed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ground — a position
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — a line
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ball — a great time
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cold — an illness

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