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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. pit — a hole
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rock — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. saw — the tool

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