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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. snap — to click
  3. race — a contest
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. swing — to play on
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — for sport
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — the sport
  16. race — the arms race
  17. dip — to sink
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — from crying
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — music
  22. field — a subject
  23. squash — to crush
  24. swing — in golf

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