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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a great time
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — to go on
  7. cue — a signal
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cue — for pool
  11. race — a contest
  12. land — a country
  13. race — humankind
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ball — a dance
  16. land — ground
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — the arms race
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — a hint
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — to dunk

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