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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chest — a box
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — a thrill

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