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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spell — magic
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — letters
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — hurry
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — the earth
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spell — a short time
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. mine — an explosive

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