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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — ground
  3. mug — a face
  4. race — the arms race
  5. press — to push
  6. content — happy
  7. mug — a cup
  8. snap — to click
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mug — to rob
  11. press — a publisher
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — of ice
  15. press — newspapers
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — the amount
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. race — a contest

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