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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. drill — a practice
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — army training
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. scale — in music

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