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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — to confront
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — an illness
  16. face — part of the head
  17. key — in music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bulb — for light
  22. present — there
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bulb — of a plant

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