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: pop · ruler · clip · ground · race · wind · bat · cold

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. race — humankind
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pop — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ground — a position
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — an illness
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — a contest
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pop — soda
  21. ground — crushed
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — a video
  24. pop — to visit

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