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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spell — magic
  3. rule — government
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rule — a law
  6. current — happening now
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spell — letters
  12. current — electric
  13. fork — in a road
  14. current — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. row — a line
  21. mine — for digging
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — money
  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