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: lean · ground · fan · lie · arm · present · mouse · cold

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. lie — to recline
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. present — there
  14. ground — a position
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. present — the time now
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fan — to cool the air

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