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: mark · row · cold · wave · pop · ground · cabinet · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — to visit
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pop — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — soda
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. row — a line

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