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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. present — a gift
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pop — soda
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. spell — magic
  15. present — there
  16. spell — a short time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. present — the time now
  19. snap — to click
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — music
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pop — to visit

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