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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bound — obliged
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — for digging
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bound — certain
  24. mine — belonging to me

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