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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a path
  4. hand — help
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. suit — in cards
  7. scale — in music
  8. suit — to fit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. content — the amount
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. suit — clothes
  16. ground — the earth
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. hand — in cards
  22. track — a song
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. track — to keep track

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