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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. race — humankind
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. wind — moving air
  10. race — the arms race
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — moving air

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