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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hand — help
  7. field — a subject
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — a break

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