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 124 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. land — ground
  4. rash — a series
  5. pop — soda
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cold — not warm
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — a match
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spell — letters
  21. pop — to visit
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. snap — to click

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