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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — a weight
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. shower — rain
  20. fall — the season
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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