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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · ground · hand · last · wind · hide · chip · kick

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hand — help
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. last — finally
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kick — in football
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chip — for betting
  22. ground — the earth
  23. last — to go on
  24. ground — a position

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