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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. swing — music
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — to go on
  8. current — of water
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — for sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — final
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. court — of a king
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of law
  24. last — finally

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