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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. face — to confront
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. face — part of the head
  6. race — humankind
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. club — a group
  12. face — to point toward
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. race — the arms race
  17. club — for golf
  18. race — a contest

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