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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. can — a tin
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cold — not warm
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — an illness
  9. row — to paddle
  10. season — of the year
  11. net — for catching
  12. season — in sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. race — the arms race
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. can — to be able to
  19. race — a contest
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. can — a tin
  23. row — a line
  24. race — humankind

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