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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — a lid
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. cap — of ice
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cap — a hat
  23. clip — a video
  24. mark — a grade

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