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: mine · snap · tube · spell · object · lie · face · cold

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tube — the underground
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spell — letters
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. object — to protest
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spell — a short time
  15. face — to confront
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. object — an aim
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — magic
  23. tube — a container
  24. object — a thing

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