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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kid — child
  3. bear — the animal
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bear — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. lie — to recline
  15. last — final
  16. kid — to tease
  17. land — ground
  18. last — finally
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. land — a country
  21. last — to go on
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cold — the Cold War

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