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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. row — a line
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bound — certain
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bound — tied together
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rock — music
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bat — for baseball

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