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: tube · bay · row · wave · straw · cold · board · clip

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. clip — a video
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — a committee
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. tube — a container
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — an illness
  20. board — to get on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — a quarrel

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