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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — boats
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — an illness
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — a match
  17. rash — a series
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. game — a kind of play

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