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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rule — government
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. can — a tin
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. race — a contest
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rule — a law
  23. can — a tin
  24. race — humankind

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