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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. chair — a leader
  3. hand — help
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. row — a line
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — to cut
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rule — a law
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — to rule out

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