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: game · row · wind · season · bass · stem · wake · fall

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. season — of the year
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fall — the season
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — in sport
  14. game — a match
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a line
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wake — a trail

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