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 · swing · board · spell · bore · pitcher · fall · land

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — letters
  5. board — to get on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. land — ground
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — a short time
  16. land — a country
  17. spell — magic
  18. land — to come down
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pitcher — a jug

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