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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — hasty
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. can — a tin
  11. rest — what's left
  12. face — to point toward
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — a series
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. race — humankind
  20. can — to be able to
  21. race — a contest
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. content — happy
  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