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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ball — a great time
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rule — a law
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a dance
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pop — soda
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rule — government
  17. chest — a box
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. chest — of your body
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — music

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