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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — to protest
  4. roll — a list
  5. chair — a leader
  6. land — ground
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. last — to go on
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bore — to drill
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. last — final
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — finally
  22. object — a thing
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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