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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. court — for sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. lie — to recline
  15. court — of law
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. season — in sport
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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