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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to click
  18. pound — a weight
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. roll — a list
  21. sharp — clever
  22. roll — a cake
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cold — the Cold War

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