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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. snap — to click
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. kid — child
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spring — of water
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pound — a weight
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cold — the Cold War

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