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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a match
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stem — to come from
  11. scale — size or range
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. pop — soda

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