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: bound · patient · root · land · race · row · cold · wound

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. land — to come down
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. race — the arms race
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bound — certain
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. race — a contest
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. root — of a plant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — a line
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — a country
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wound — an injury

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