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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — a tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — an illness
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. suit — in cards
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. squash — the sport
  24. net — for catching

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