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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. ground — a position
  4. charge — a price
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — crushed
  8. court — for sport
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ground — the earth
  13. present — the time now
  14. lie — to recline
  15. spring — the season
  16. charge — in control
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. present — there
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. court — of a king
  24. present — a gift

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