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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — for digging
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. last — to go on
  9. charge — electricity
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rule — government
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. field — a subject
  18. charge — a price
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. charge — in control
  24. wax — to grow

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