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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — a break
  3. firm — decided
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. board — a committee
  7. bulb — for light
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. board — to get on
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — what's left
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — rain
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. board — a flat piece

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