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 · bowl · tube · cell · stem · object

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. object — to protest
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. object — a thing
  14. stem — to come from
  15. tube — the underground
  16. object — an aim
  17. tube — a container
  18. bowl — to roll

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