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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — in sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — for catching
  19. kick — in football
  20. pit — in a race
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. game — a match

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