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: wind · pitch · field · bank · race · craft · cold · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — humankind
  3. craft — boats
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — of a river
  7. field — a subject
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bank — for money
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. field — farmland
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — the Cold War

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