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: kick · wound · last · rush · bear · cap · cold · ground

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ground — a position
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. last — final
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — to go on
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. last — finally
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — to put up with

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