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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in biology
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitch — completely
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. charge — in control
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. charge — a price
  24. march — music

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