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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cap — of ice
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cold — not warm
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rash — a series
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. kick — in football
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wound — an injury

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