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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. lean — to bend
  3. game — a match
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lean — thin
  17. spell — a short time
  18. kick — in football
  19. spell — magic
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — letters
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lean — to rest against

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