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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — to tease
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — to sit on

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