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: sharp · spell · row · stick · deal · foot · hand · cold

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. hand — help
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. deal — to handle
  9. foot — a measure
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spell — magic
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cold — an illness
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. hand — part of the body

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