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: ball · pitch · row · bat · wind · race · mark · wound

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — a contest
  5. mark — a trace
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — a line
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. row — to paddle
  16. race — humankind
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitch — a sports field

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