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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. snap — to click
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. content — happy
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fall — to drop
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cold — not warm
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. season — in sport

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