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: fall · chest · toast · cold · tube · can · cell · race

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fall — to drop
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tube — a container
  12. chest — of your body
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. race — humankind
  15. tube — the underground
  16. race — a contest
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. toast — bread
  20. fall — the season
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — an illness

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