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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — to go on
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — finally
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. last — final
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. row — a line
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mug — to rob

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