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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — for catching
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rule — government
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. swing — music
  8. rule — a law
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — for digging
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. net — after costs
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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