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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — the season
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — ground
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. land — to come down
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. march — music
  20. land — a country
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — magic
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — an eyelash

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