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. The water is too ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spell — letters
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. club — for golf
  5. spell — magic
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rest — what's left
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rest — a break
  10. plane — a tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. club — for dancing
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hand — in cards

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