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: wound · date · cabinet · charge · land · chair · race · dip

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. charge — in control
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. charge — a price
  19. land — a country
  20. charge — electricity
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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