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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — crushed
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cell — in biology
  24. band — a music group

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