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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — the arms race
  5. date — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hand — help
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ground — the earth
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fall — the season
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — a position
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hand — part of the body

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