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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. last — to go on
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — finally
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. fine — all right
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cold — not warm
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — final
  22. field — a subject
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cold — an illness

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