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: rash · land · cold · rest · fall · chair · date · mine

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rest — what's left
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rest — a break
  7. rash — a series
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — the fruit
  21. land — to come down
  22. fall — the season
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cold — an illness

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