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 124 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. game — a match
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — a box
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — humankind
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. race — a contest
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. rest — a break
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lean — to bend
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — thin
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — from a university

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