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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · spring · race · land · wound · calf

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. drill — a practice
  4. spring — of water
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spring — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — a coil
  13. race — the arms race
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. drill — army training
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — humankind

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