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 · wake · arm · mate · rest · press · shower · cold

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mate — a partner
  5. press — a publisher
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. press — to push
  9. rest — a break
  10. race — humankind
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — to breed
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mate — a friend
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — rain
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — not warm

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