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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. spring — of water
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chest — of your body
  5. face — to confront
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — a box
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. toast — bread
  14. face — to point toward
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mate — a partner

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