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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. face — to point toward
  6. land — to come down
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — the arms race
  10. face — to confront
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — ground
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. saw — the tool

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