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 · bound · season · pop · bat · chair · wake · land

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pop — soda
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — to come down
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pop — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. season — in sport
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bound — certain
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rash — a series
  20. season — of the year
  21. land — ground
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pop — to visit
  24. season — to add flavour

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