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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. land — to come down
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — clever
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — in a road
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. land — ground

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