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: cue · perch · rash · pitch · land · content · race · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. content — happy
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — the amount
  9. cue — a signal
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — a series
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — for pool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. land — to come down
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cue — a hint
  24. race — the arms race

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