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

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rule — government
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. capital — a city
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — not warm
  23. scale — in music
  24. rule — a law

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