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: drill · snap · race · cell · rule · land · track · lash

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rule — government
  3. snap — to click
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cell — a phone
  6. drill — army training
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. track — a path
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — a law
  14. track — a song
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. land — to come down
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. land — a country
  20. race — humankind
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — the tool

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