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: dip · foot · bowl · mark · present · cold · pop · cell

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mark — a trace
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — not warm
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. present — a gift
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. present — the time now
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — a football final

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