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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — a country
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — ground
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ball — a great time
  10. land — to come down
  11. cell — a phone
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. game — a match
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — a video
  18. cell — in biology
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. ball — a dance
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — the arms race

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