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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. ball — a great time
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. board — to get on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. board — a committee
  8. kick — in football
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ball — a round shape

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