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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cold — not warm
  6. object — a thing
  7. spell — letters
  8. rule — government
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. hand — help
  11. spell — magic
  12. rule — a law
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. object — to protest
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. net — in sport

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