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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cue — a hint
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spell — letters
  6. bound — certain
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stock — goods
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spell — magic
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spell — a short time

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