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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ground — the earth
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ground — a position
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rule — a law
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. net — in sport
  16. rule — government
  17. net — after costs
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. net — for catching
  24. land — a country

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