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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — a division
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rule — government
  8. bound — tied together
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. bound — certain
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bound — obliged
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rule — a law
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chair — a leader
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. staff — employees
  24. mark — a trace

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