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 124 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — thin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — happy
  7. current — of water
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. root — of a plant
  11. current — happening now
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. current — electric
  14. hand — in cards
  15. root — of a word
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lean — to bend
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — the amount
  24. hand — help

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