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: cold · rash · mouse · squash · content · sharp · wake · ground

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. ground — a position
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — crushed
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wake — a trail
  17. squash — the sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — an illness
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ground — the earth
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — the Cold War

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