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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kid — child
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cell — in biology
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. key — in music
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cold — an illness
  13. key — the most important part
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — to shout
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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