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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mark — a grade
  3. last — finally
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — final
  7. lean — to bend
  8. craft — a skill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. row — a line
  11. shower — rain
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mark — a trace
  19. sharp — clever
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. craft — boats

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