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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cold — an illness
  4. season — of the year
  5. cue — a signal
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chest — a box
  9. file — a tool
  10. present — there
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. pop — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — soda
  22. season — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. cold — not warm

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