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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. last — final
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. net — for catching
  15. swing — in golf
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. swing — music
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. net — after costs

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