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: bear · cold · rule · key · land · lean · fall · trunk

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rule — government
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bear — the animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cold — an illness
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rule — a law
  11. land — a country
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. land — ground
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. key — in music
  20. fall — the season
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — thin

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