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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. land — ground
  5. file — a tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rule — a law
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — a country
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a document
  14. field — farmland
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. field — a subject
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — for sport
  24. lie — to recline

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