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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. 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. key — in music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. race — the arms race
  4. key — for a lock
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — help
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — humankind
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. 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