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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — letters
  9. ground — the earth
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cap — a lid
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — magic
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cell — in a prison

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