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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — happy
  3. cue — for pool
  4. content — the amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cue — a signal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cue — a hint
  24. chest — a box

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