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: saw · craft · scale · cell · leaves · cold · drill · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. craft — boats
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — army training
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — in music
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. craft — a skill
  16. drill — a practice
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cell — in biology

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