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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cap — a hat
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — to come down
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. spring — of water
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. court — for sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — of a king
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — a lid
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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