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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. key — in music
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. drill — army training
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. prune — to trim
  21. drill — the tool
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cold — the Cold War

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