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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a hole
  5. last — final
  6. fine — all right
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — rain
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. race — humankind
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — finally
  23. shower — to wash
  24. band — a ring

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