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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — humankind
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — a contest
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ground — a position
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bat — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. board — to get on
  24. saw — the tool

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