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

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. race — a contest
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. vault — a safe
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. race — humankind
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. tear — to rip
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. plane — a tool
  24. ground — the earth

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