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: race · pit · rush · patient · ball · wake · tear · clip

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rush — hurry
  10. race — a contest
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pit — in a race
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a great time
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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