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: race · chair · toast · rule · face · mine

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — a law
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chair — a leader
  7. face — to confront
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rule — government
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. face — part of the head
  13. toast — bread
  14. face — to point toward
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest

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