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 · spring · cold · pitcher · lash · content · face · court

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — for sport
  10. lean — thin
  11. court — of law
  12. face — part of the head
  13. content — the amount
  14. court — of a king
  15. content — happy
  16. face — to point toward
  17. spring — of water
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. face — to confront
  20. lean — to bend
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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