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: cold · mouse · chest · race · wake · ground · sharp · root

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. root — the cause
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — a position
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — a box

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