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: bound · fan · leaves · chest · can · jam · snap · cold

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. can — to be able to
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. can — a tin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chest — a box
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. can — a tin
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bound — certain

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