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: bank · chair · race · spring · racket · land · wound · row

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — ground
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bank — for money
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spring — the season
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. land — to come down
  23. bank — of a river
  24. row — a line

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