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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rule — government
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — the season
  19. march — music
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — in a race

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