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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. band — a music group
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — a city
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. file — a line of people
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. deal — to handle
  22. object — to protest
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a ring

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