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: cell · game · wax · mate · land · cold · staff · rule

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a match
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — wild animals
  12. land — a country
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rule — government
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. staff — employees

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