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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. hand — help
  4. present — a gift
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — a contest
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rash — hasty
  18. can — a tin
  19. land — ground
  20. rash — a series
  21. hand — in cards
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  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