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 120 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: staff · scale · race · racket · land · cold · content · cell

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. staff — a stick
  3. race — the arms race
  4. scale — size or range
  5. land — ground
  6. staff — employees
  7. content — the amount
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. staff — employees
  11. cell — in biology
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — a country
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. racket — a loud noise

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