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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rest — what's left
  4. current — happening now
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ground — a position
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — electric
  14. rest — a break
  15. cap — a lid
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ground — the earth
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — of water
  22. cap — a hat
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cap — of ice

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