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: mate · cold · lash · sharp · stem · row · charge · racket

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — to breed
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. charge — a price
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — clever
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a friend
  16. charge — in control
  17. mate — a partner
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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