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 · bound · chest · rush · bat · bass · bowl · bear

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bat — in an idiom

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