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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. last — final
  4. staff — a stick
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. last — finally
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mate — a friend
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — to breed
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitch — completely
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — a city
  18. mate — a partner
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. date — the fruit
  24. fork — in a road

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