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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. can — to be able to
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. race — a contest
  8. game — a match
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — a country
  13. can — a tin
  14. land — to come down
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. race — humankind
  19. land — ground
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. race — the arms race

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