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 116 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: coach · hand · rule · chair · stem · snap · cold · content

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — happy
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hand — help
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. stem — to come from
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rule — a law
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. hand — in cards
  24. content — the amount

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