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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chair — a leader
  4. snap — to click
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spring — of water
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. band — a ring
  10. pass — a permit
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a music group
  24. sharp — with an edge

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