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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — an illness
  3. row — to paddle
  4. roll — a cake
  5. squash — the sport
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cold — not warm
  11. face — to point toward
  12. board — a committee
  13. swing — in golf
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. face — to confront
  17. squash — to crush
  18. row — a line
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. roll — a list
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. face — part of the head

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