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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tear — to rip
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spell — letters
  24. tear — from crying

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