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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — a position
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. track — a song
  21. fall — the season
  22. track — a path
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fan — a supporter

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