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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cue — for pool
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cue — a signal
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — the animal
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — of the year
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — a hint
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. season — in sport
  24. scale — size or range

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