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 116 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 · swing · racket · wave · wound · bat · land · wind

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. swing — music
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — to come down
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — ground
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. swing — in golf
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — moving air

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