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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kid — child
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. board — to get on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rule — government
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — a division
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. board — a committee
  23. file — a tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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