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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — the earth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. mate — a partner
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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