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: rule · race · bass · field · snap · pit · wax · straw

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — the arms race
  8. snap — to click
  9. race — humankind
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pit — a hole
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. field — a subject
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bass — low music
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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