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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. last — final
  3. rule — a law
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — finally
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bound — tied together
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rule — government
  19. last — to go on
  20. lie — to recline
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pop — music

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