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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. foot — a measure
  4. object — to protest
  5. ground — crushed
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — an aim
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. fork — in a road
  12. clip — a video
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — a position
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — of the year
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rule — government
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. foot — part of the body

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