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 120 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: land · lash · fall · cap · dip · mine · row · march

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cap — a lid
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. march — music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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