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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — to confront
  4. mate — to breed
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fall — to drop
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mate — a friend
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fall — the season
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. racket — for tennis

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