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: bat · rule · rest · mine · cold · spring · safe · lash

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — not warm
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — a law
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — government
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — for digging
  24. lash — to lash out

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