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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · kid · stem · coach · wind · cold

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — child
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — an illness
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hide — to keep secret

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