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: court · face · dip · drill · land · race · lie · wind

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. lie — to recline
  5. dip — to sink
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to confront
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. court — of a king
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — a country
  15. race — the arms race
  16. drill — army training
  17. wind — moving air
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. lie — an untruth

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