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: drill · trunk · date · race · face · chair · last · spring

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. drill — army training
  5. race — the arms race
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. spring — of water
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. date — the fruit
  11. chair — a leader
  12. drill — a practice
  13. race — a contest
  14. face — part of the head
  15. drill — the tool
  16. last — final
  17. spring — the season
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — a coil
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — to confront
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — finally

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