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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rule — government
  16. scale — in music
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rule — a law
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chair — to sit on

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