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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fine — all right
  4. net — for catching
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. net — after costs
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — in sport
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bowl — a football final

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