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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cap — of ice
  13. row — to paddle
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. pound — a weight
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. row — a line
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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