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: pit · land · race · firm · ball · cold · tear · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. land — a country
  3. firm — decided
  4. cold — an illness
  5. firm — steady
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. firm — a company
  13. race — humankind
  14. track — a song
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a great time
  21. land — to come down
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tear — to rip

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