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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kick — in football
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rush — hurry
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. staff — employees
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cell — in biology

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