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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — a contest
  5. net — after costs
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — to come down
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. land — a country
  14. face — to confront
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bat — the animal

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