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: chest · pass · present · scale · rule · cold

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. present — there
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pass — a permit
  8. scale — in music
  9. rule — government
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. rule — a law
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body

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