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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. ground — a position
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — size or range
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — certain
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — an illness
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. scale — in music
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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