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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bound — certain
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bound — tied together
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — obliged
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a city
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — to cut
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — a tin
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. can — a tin
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wind — moving air

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