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: race · date · pit · game · coach · drill · press · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pit — a hole
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a match
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. press — newspapers

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