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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. swing — music
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — an illness
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. row — a line
  13. swing — in golf
  14. plane — a tool
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — the amount
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — happy
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cold — the Cold War

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