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: bear · cell · wind · shower · game · last · race · can

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cell — a phone
  4. can — a tin
  5. race — a contest
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — to wash
  10. can — a tin
  11. last — final
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. last — finally
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — wild animals
  24. race — humankind

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