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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — a law
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — to paddle
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fall — the season
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rule — government
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — before a funeral

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