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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rule — a law
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — the season
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. roll — a list
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. roll — a cake
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rule — government
  16. chair — a leader
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fork — to eat with

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