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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. race — humankind
  4. board — a committee
  5. firm — decided
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — a contest
  9. court — for sport
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of a king
  14. sharp — clever
  15. court — of law
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. board — to get on
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hand — help

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