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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. land — to come down
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — army training
  9. land — ground
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — to bend
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stand — for spectators

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