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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. track — a song
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. staff — a stick
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a great time
  15. snap — to click
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — rain
  18. track — a path
  19. shower — to wash
  20. track — to keep track
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. staff — employees
  24. ball — a round shape

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