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 · bat · cap · swing · craft · cold · saw · bore

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. saw — the tool
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — a contest
  7. bat — the animal
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. craft — a skill
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. craft — boats
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. race — humankind
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. swing — in golf

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