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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. craft — boats
  10. file — a document
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rule — a law
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — a skill

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