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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. roll — a list
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chest — a box
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chest — of your body
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fine — all right
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — not warm

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