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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. charge — a price
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — in control
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wound — an injury
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pop — soda
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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