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: snap · game · lean · patient · race · cold · pit · wax

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. snap — to click
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lean — thin
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — a contest
  8. wax — to grow
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. game — a match
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lean — to bend

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