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: wound · row · fall · sharp · pop · spell · wind · bound

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — certain
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pop — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bound — obliged
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — a line
  17. pop — soda
  18. bound — tied together
  19. spell — letters
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wound — an injury

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