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 · lean · chest · snap · branch · firm · file · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. firm — decided
  4. lean — thin
  5. file — a tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. firm — steady
  8. cue — for pool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. snap — to click
  11. chest — a box
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cue — a signal
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. file — a document
  18. firm — a company
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — not warm

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