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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rash — hasty
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — a country
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. land — ground
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rest — a break
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cap — a hat
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — a position
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — to come down
  24. rest — what's left

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