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 124 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: march · cell · wound · calf · race · row

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — humankind
  7. march — the month
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cell — in biology
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wound — an injury
  12. row — a line
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. calf — a young 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