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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wound — an injury
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pop — to visit
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — the arms race
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pop — soda
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pop — music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — not warm
  22. content — happy
  23. race — humankind
  24. nail — for a hammer

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