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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — a break
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. file — a tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a document
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ruler — for measuring

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