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 · chair · bowl · chest · degree · saw · snap · club

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. snap — to click
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. race — a contest
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. club — for golf
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. degree — from a university

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