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: fan · chip · mate · content · spring · cold · fall · last

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chip — for betting
  11. last — finally
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — of water
  17. mate — a friend
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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