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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — rain
  4. ball — a great time
  5. rule — a law
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — a line
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chip — to eat
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rule — government
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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