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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bulb — for light
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — not warm

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