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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — a law

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