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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — in a race
  3. toast — bread
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. game — wild animals
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pit — a hole
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. game — a kind of play

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