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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. land — a country
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. land — ground
  14. degree — temperature
  15. squash — to crush
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — from a university
  21. drill — a practice
  22. staff — employees
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. race — a contest

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