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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. stand — to bear
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mug — a cup
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mug — to rob
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. content — happy
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — in music
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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