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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lean — thin
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — of the year
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rule — a law
  20. mine — for digging
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. lean — to rest against

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