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: fall · mate · kid · cold · patient · staff · mark · content

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — a grade
  11. content — happy
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mate — a partner
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mark — a trace

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