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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. court — for sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. court — of a king
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — the tool
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — a container

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