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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. charge — in control
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — rain
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. charge — a price
  11. pop — to visit
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cap — a lid
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. charge — electricity
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — after costs
  24. tear — to rip

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