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 116 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cell — in biology
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — child
  15. capital — money
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a city
  19. court — for sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wound — an injury
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. capital — a big letter

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