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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — not warm
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. hand — in cards
  7. staff — a stick
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tube — a container
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — an illness
  15. row — a line
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. tube — the underground
  18. snap — to click
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. fan — a supporter

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