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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rule — a law
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. stem — to come from
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rule — government
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. swing — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. lean — thin
  24. stem — of a plant

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