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: suit · chair · cold · race · swing · mine · march · stick

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. race — humankind
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. suit — to fit
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. suit — clothes
  17. march — the month
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cold — not warm
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chair — a leader
  24. suit — in cards

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