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: cold · board · key · race · fan · capital · kid · date

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. board — a committee
  3. capital — money
  4. key — the most important part
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — in music
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. key — for a lock
  16. date — the fruit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. board — to get on
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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