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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — for golf
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. club — for dancing
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. club — a group
  19. row — a line
  20. kick — in football
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. game — a match

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