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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — not warm
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — the month
  14. fall — the season
  15. rest — what's left
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rest — a break
  18. march — the month
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. march — music
  21. stand — to bear
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. fall — to drop

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