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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. track — a song
  3. race — humankind
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tube — the underground
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rash — a series
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — for digging
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tube — a container
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rash — hasty
  23. band — a music group
  24. prune — to trim

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