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 120 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: pass · chest · lie · drill · cold · clip · mark · bay

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. drill — army training
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mark — a trace
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chest — a box
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pass — to spend time

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