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: cold · nail · rule · scale · prune · land · game · ruler

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — a country
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. game — a match
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — to trim

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