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: kid · race · fall · rule · hide · cell · spring · row

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kid — child
  3. race — humankind
  4. spring — of water
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. race — a contest
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spring — the season
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — to tease
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rule — government
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — the arms race

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