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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ground — the earth
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. wake — a trail
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — a video
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spell — magic
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. ground — a position
  24. row — a quarrel

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