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: file · race · chip · last · wound · bat · arm · temple

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. last — to go on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. file — a tool
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. file — a document
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. race — a contest
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — finally
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wound — an injury

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