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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cold — an illness
  5. shower — rain
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — to recline
  9. mine — for digging
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rock — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — an amount
  17. squash — to crush
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the sport
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. season — in sport
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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