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: stand · cold · temple · wind · dip · tear · race · deal

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. race — humankind
  8. dip — to sink
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. deal — to handle
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — the arms race
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stand — for spectators

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