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: pop · cell · stem · race · safe · cold · row · sharp

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — to come from
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a line
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. race — the arms race
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pop — soda
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cell — a phone
  20. race — humankind
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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