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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. rule — a law
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. ground — a position
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mug — a face
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mug — to rob
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rule — government
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. current — electric

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