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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — help
  3. race — a contest
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. last — finally
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a document
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a tool
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. plane — in geometry

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