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: cold · fall · mate · rest · mine · swing · race · lash

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — humankind
  10. swing — music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. race — a contest
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rest — a break
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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