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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rule — a law
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — government
  17. season — of the year
  18. pit — in a race
  19. drill — army training
  20. can — a tin
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pit — a hole
  24. drill — the tool

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