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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. race — humankind
  3. lie — to recline
  4. race — a contest
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — a container
  11. kid — to tease
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — a box
  15. net — in sport
  16. mine — for digging
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. row — a line
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kid — child

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