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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — a practice
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — clever
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cold — an illness
  18. craft — boats
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. craft — a skill
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chair — a leader

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