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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bore — to drill
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tube — a container
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. tube — the underground
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a city
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bore — to tire

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