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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ground — a position
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. court — of a king
  8. ground — the earth
  9. court — of law
  10. ground — crushed
  11. board — a committee
  12. scale — in music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rule — government
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. board — to get on
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — for sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. clip — to cut

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