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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. stand — to bear
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. board — to get on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — a video
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — a committee
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — crushed
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fall — the season

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