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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — for sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — farmland
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. tear — to rip
  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