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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. drill — army training
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to tire
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bore — to drill
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — ground
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. drill — the tool

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