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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. craft — a skill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. craft — boats
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — a face
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — a country
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rest — a break
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chest — a box

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