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 120 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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — child
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chip — to eat
  13. spring — of water
  14. craft — boats
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — the season
  22. rule — a law
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cold — not warm

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