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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — the season
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rule — government
  14. land — a country
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spell — letters
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — of water
  22. spell — magic
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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