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 water is too ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rash — hasty
  4. current — happening now
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. perch — the fish
  9. current — electric
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — a series
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. current — of water

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