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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. spell — a short time
  10. band — a ring
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rule — a law
  16. court — for sport
  17. rule — government
  18. court — of law
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — of a king
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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