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 120 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: chest · bark · wake · cold · dip · squash · wind · patient

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. chest — a box

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