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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — a contest
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. game — a match
  6. cap — a hat
  7. ground — crushed
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ground — a position
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — humankind
  16. court — of law
  17. cap — a lid
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ground — the earth
  20. court — of a king
  21. rash — a series
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving 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