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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spring — of water
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hand — help
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bound — certain
  24. chair — a professorship

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