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

Word bank: race · rest · deal · degree · wind · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rest — what's left
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rest — a break
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — humankind
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rush — to hurry

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