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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. clip — to cut
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. season — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — of the year
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fork — in a road
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — to eat with

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