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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — a hat
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — not warm
  17. race — a contest
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. march — the month
  24. wind — to turn a key

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