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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hand — help
  3. season — in sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — of the year
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — a tin
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — in football
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. can — to be able to

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