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 locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — an illness
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — to rip
  8. land — a country
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tear — from crying
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — a law
  13. fall — the season
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — to come down
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. perch — the fish
  21. land — ground
  22. rule — government
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fall — to drop

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