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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — music
  10. perch — the fish
  11. content — the amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — the arms race
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — humankind
  23. pop — soda
  24. content — happy

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