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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. track — a song
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — the animal
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. pop — soda
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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