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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. race — a contest
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bark — to shout
  17. tear — from crying
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — the arms race
  22. board — to get on
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — money

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