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 · march · nail · capital · lean · ruler · cold · cell

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. land — a country
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — thin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lean — to bend
  17. capital — money
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cell — a phone
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. march — the month

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