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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. last — to go on
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — a garden tool

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