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: straw · present · cold · cell · file · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cell — in biology
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. file — a tool
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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