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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chest — a box
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — humankind
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — a young animal

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