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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. roll — a list
  3. land — to come down
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. roll — a cake
  8. file — a tool
  9. cue — for pool
  10. file — a document
  11. land — ground
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. saw — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — a country

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