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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cap — a hat
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — music
  9. toast — bread
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — a contest
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cap — a lid
  22. swing — in golf
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cold — an illness

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