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 120 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. current — happening now
  3. game — a match
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — for catching
  11. bore — to tire
  12. net — in sport
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. current — electric
  20. net — after costs
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. bore — to drill

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