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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — final
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — finally
  12. content — happy
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — to go on
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — a part of something

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