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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mine — for digging
  4. game — a match
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — a line
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. suit — to fit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. suit — in cards
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. suit — clothes
  24. bat — the animal

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