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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. last — final
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — part of the head
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. face — to point toward
  8. last — to go on
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. lie — to recline
  15. face — to confront
  16. root — the cause
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mate — a partner
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mate — to breed

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