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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — to shout
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — in biology
  5. saw — the tool
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cell — a phone
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. land — ground
  14. capital — money
  15. saw — the tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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