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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — child
  6. suit — clothes
  7. court — of law
  8. race — humankind
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. suit — to fit
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — goods
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — shares
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. suit — in cards
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. court — of a king
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — the arms race
  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