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 120 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: rash · swing · face · cold · saw · wind · kid · bulb

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rash — hasty
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. swing — music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — child
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bulb — for light

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