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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — for sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. season — in sport
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. pit — a hole
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ball — a dance
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ball — a great time
  16. snap — to click
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — the season
  20. season — of the year
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — in a race
  24. lean — to rest against

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