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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. present — there
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. present — a gift
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cap — a hat
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. present — the time now
  15. cap — of ice
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — to go on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pound — a weight
  21. shower — rain
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. pound — to hit hard

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