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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. court — of a king
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. clip — a video
  8. pass — a permit
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. rush — hurry
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. court — of law
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — not warm
  18. foot — a measure
  19. cold — an illness
  20. court — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — to cut
  24. foot — part of the body

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