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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. race — humankind
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stem — to come from
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fall — the season
  14. rash — a series
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lean — to bend
  18. race — the arms race
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bat — for baseball

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