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: suit · wake · coach · cold · key · pound · hand · kid

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — help
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. suit — to fit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wake — a trail
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. suit — clothes
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pound — a weight
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. key — in music
  24. coach — a trainer

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