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

Word bank: cold · coach · mate · tear · cell · kick

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kick — in football
  18. cell — in a prison

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