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 · land · band · press · race · coach · key · calf

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. key — in music
  3. race — humankind
  4. land — to come down
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. key — the most important part
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. press — a publisher
  11. land — a country
  12. press — newspapers
  13. band — a music group
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a ring
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. press — to push
  18. race — a contest
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. key — for a lock
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — ground

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