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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — a law
  4. root — of a word
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. spell — letters
  8. root — of a plant
  9. land — ground
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. land — to come down
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. last — finally
  19. land — a country
  20. rule — government
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. root — the cause
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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