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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cue — a hint
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. squash — to crush
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cue — for pool
  24. sharp — with an edge

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