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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cue — for pool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cue — a signal
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — of your body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cue — a hint
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. net — for catching
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. file — a tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. net — in sport
  24. file — a document

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