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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. content — the amount
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rule — a law
  10. staff — a stick
  11. row — to paddle
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — to go on
  18. rule — government
  19. pit — in a race
  20. row — a line
  21. content — happy
  22. pit — a hole
  23. staff — employees
  24. row — a quarrel

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