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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — farmland
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — a position
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — a break
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — to rip

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