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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. object — an aim
  7. rest — a break
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. perch — the fish
  12. object — to protest
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bark — to shout
  19. object — a thing
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. squash — to crush

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