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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spring — the season
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — a price
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — a coil
  16. scale — in music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. charge — in control
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rock — a stone

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