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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. bark — to shout
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bat — the animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. band — a ring

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