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 · date · bass · cold · saw · game · cabinet · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — a box
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. game — a match
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — of your body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. saw — the tool

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