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 120 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cue — a signal
  5. scale — in music
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. race — the arms race
  13. scale — size or range
  14. race — a contest
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. file — a document
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — humankind
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a tool
  24. cue — a hint

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