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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — final
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — to keep track
  8. key — the most important part
  9. land — to come down
  10. season — in sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. key — for a lock
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. row — a line
  17. land — a country
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. key — in music
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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