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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rule — a law
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bass — low music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — a practice
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — army training
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. root — of a plant
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — government

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