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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. tear — to rip
  3. fine — all right
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — for betting
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rash — hasty

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