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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rash — a series
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — the month
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spell — letters
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cap — a lid
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spell — a short time
  22. march — the month
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. march — music

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