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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chest — a box
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — a series
  7. deal — to handle
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spring — of water
  10. board — to get on
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. suit — clothes
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — the season
  24. deal — an agreement

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