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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rash — hasty
  3. race — the arms race
  4. deal — to handle
  5. band — a music group
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — a contest
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — happy
  19. shower — rain
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. chest — a box
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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