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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. row — a line
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. swing — music
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. swing — in golf
  19. row — to paddle
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — the fish
  24. ruler — for measuring

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