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: leaves · cap · cold · hide · clip · rest · key · drill

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. key — the most important part
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — army training
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — the tool
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — an illness
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rest — a break
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. drill — a practice
  24. hide — animal skin

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