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 120 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: net · coach · drill · land · squash · wake · cap · cold

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cap — a lid
  5. land — ground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. drill — army training
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — of ice
  17. net — for catching
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. net — after costs
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — a practice

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