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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bound — tied together
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bound — certain
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bound — obliged
  17. race — humankind
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. hand — help
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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