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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in biology
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lie — an untruth

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