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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — the underground
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. row — a line
  5. mug — to rob
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mug — a cup
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. game — a match
  11. content — happy
  12. row — to paddle
  13. present — there
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mug — a face
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — boats
  21. present — the time now
  22. content — the amount
  23. craft — a skill
  24. tube — a container

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