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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. charge — a price
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. charge — in control
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — to come down
  24. fork — in a road

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