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: cold · pop · coach · rule · land · chest · content · safe

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — to come down
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. content — the amount
  6. pop — music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. pop — soda
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. land — ground

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