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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. season — of the year
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. bulb — for light
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — an illness
  23. squash — to crush
  24. scale — size or range

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