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 116 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fall — the season
  8. bound — obliged
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — the amount
  12. file — a tool
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. fine — all right
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. content — happy
  24. bound — tied together

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