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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · leaves · race · rule · row · land

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rule — government
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. race — a contest
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. race — humankind
  11. land — a country
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. race — the arms race
  16. row — a line
  17. rule — a law
  18. row — to paddle

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