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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. last — finally
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a tool
  8. last — final
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — for digging
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. drill — the tool

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