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: hand · cold · cell · roll · pitcher · plane · cap · craft

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. hand — help
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. roll — a list
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cap — of ice
  22. craft — boats
  23. hand — in cards
  24. roll — a cake

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