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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. board — to get on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — a leader
  12. dip — to sink
  13. game — wild animals
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. game — a match
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. board — a committee
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wind — to turn a key

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