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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chip — to eat
  14. face — to point toward
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chip — for betting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cap — of ice
  24. deal — to handle

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