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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. present — the time now
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — a box
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. present — there
  19. game — a match
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cap — a lid
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bear — the animal

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