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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. last — final
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — humankind
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. ground — the earth
  14. race — a contest
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — the season
  24. fan — to cool the air

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