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: bore · straw · cold · ruler · row · court · rock · spell

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spell — a short time
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. spell — letters
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. court — for sport
  14. bore — to drill
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — an illness
  20. court — of law
  21. spell — magic
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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