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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — all right
  6. club — a group
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — high quality
  10. shower — rain
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. squash — to crush
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cold — an illness

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