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 · face · leaves · arm · row · dip · spell · ball

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. row — a line
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. dip — to sink
  9. ball — a dance
  10. spell — magic
  11. ball — a great time
  12. face — to confront
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — letters
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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