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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. sharp — clever
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. kid — child
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — completely
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of a king
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stand — for spectators

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