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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — government
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fork — in a road
  6. scale — in music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — the season
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rule — a law
  21. spring — of water
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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