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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cold — not warm
  3. toast — bread
  4. cold — an illness
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. mate — a friend
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. field — a subject
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pit — a hole

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