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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kick — in football
  4. shower — rain
  5. last — final
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — finally
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wind — moving air

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