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: band · race · wound · kid · stem · chip · file · spring

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chip — for betting
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spring — the season
  9. kid — child
  10. race — humankind
  11. stem — to come from
  12. file — a document
  13. kid — to tease
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — a coil
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — of water
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chip — to eat

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