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

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — happening now
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mate — a friend
  6. current — electric
  7. mate — to breed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — of water
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. scale — in music
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. key — for a lock
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stand — to bear
  22. key — in music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tear — from crying

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