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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — a weight
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cell — a phone
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  24. clip — for paper

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