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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — to keep track
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. net — for catching
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. net — in sport
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — to tease
  15. track — a path
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kid — child
  19. row — a line
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — to paddle
  22. net — after costs
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mine — belonging to me

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