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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. row — a line
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wax — to grow

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