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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a partner
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to click
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. net — after costs
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mate — to breed
  14. land — ground
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. land — a country
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — in a road
  24. jam — a tight spot

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