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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — to breed
  3. last — final
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. file — a tool
  10. mate — a friend
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rule — a law
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a line of people
  18. last — finally
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. file — a document
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. mate — a partner

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