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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. court — for sport
  4. present — there
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. court — of a king
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — of ice
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — an illness
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — of law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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