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 · ball · mark · board · rest · capital · tube · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — a container
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — money
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. rest — a break
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mark — a trace
  17. board — a committee
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lie — to recline
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — in a tire

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