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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. capital — money
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. capital — a city
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — the tool
  16. roll — a list
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cabinet — a cupboard

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