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 116 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: ground · bass · chair · cold · race · pitch · march · mate

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — humankind
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — the arms race
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — a position
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bass — the fish

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