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 120 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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wake — a trail
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cold — an illness
  14. band — a ring
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. band — a music group
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. row — a quarrel

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