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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. last — final
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kick — in football
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tube — the underground
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tube — a container
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — not warm

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