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: mate · scale · cold · rest · fork · tear · wind · wake

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rest — what's left

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