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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. club — a group
  4. land — ground
  5. last — finally
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — of the year
  10. deal — to handle
  11. land — to come down
  12. last — to go on
  13. club — for dancing
  14. land — a country
  15. swing — in golf
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — final
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — to play on
  24. club — for golf

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