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. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — a match
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cold — an illness
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — to visit
  16. key — the most important part
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — crushed
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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