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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. squash — the sport
  4. swing — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spell — letters
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spell — a short time
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. degree — from a university
  17. season — of the year
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — magic
  23. swing — in golf
  24. squash — to crush

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