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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mate — a partner
  3. track — to keep track
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. scale — in music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — help
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. kick — in football
  16. fine — high quality
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mate — to breed
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. track — a path
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — part of the body

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