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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cold — an illness
  7. key — for a lock
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. chair — a leader
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. key — in music
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — clever
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a dance
  20. land — ground
  21. ball — a great time
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. sharp — with an edge

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