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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — in music
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — of law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. court — of a king
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — to confront
  23. hand — help
  24. court — for sport

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