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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. net — in sport
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — to tire
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — after costs
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fall — to drop
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. land — a country

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