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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — a division
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cue — for pool
  7. rest — a break
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. net — in sport
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — of a bank
  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