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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spell — magic
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. march — music
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — a contest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. march — the month

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