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: pitcher · wave · race · cold · ruler · pop · row · cap

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. row — a line
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pop — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — the arms race
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. race — a contest
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ruler — for measuring

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