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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — child
  6. row — a line
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cold — not warm
  17. face — to confront
  18. present — there
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bulb — for light

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