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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. drill — army training
  7. tube — a container
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ball — a great time
  15. drill — the tool
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rule — a law
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rule — government

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