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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bound — certain
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. last — finally
  7. land — to come down
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fork — in a road
  16. land — ground
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bound — tied together
  24. shower — rain

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