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 water is too ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fall — the season
  6. drill — army training
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. press — to push
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fall — to drop
  18. press — newspapers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — an illness

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