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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cell — in biology
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. scale — in music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. firm — a company
  13. cell — a phone
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. press — a publisher
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. firm — steady
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. firm — decided
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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