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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. snap — to click
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — a country
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. land — ground
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. land — to come down
  14. board — a committee
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. board — to get on
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a flat piece

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