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: rush · bat · fan · land · pop · rule · plane · patient

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rule — government
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pop — to visit
  9. land — a country
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pop — music
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rule — a law
  16. pop — soda
  17. land — ground
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bat — the animal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — in an idiom

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