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: kick · land · wave · rule · roll · bark · cold · nail

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. land — a country
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. roll — a list
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. roll — a cake
  14. rule — a law
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — an illness

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