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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. toast — bread
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pit — in a race
  5. spring — the season
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cold — not warm
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. staff — employees
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — from a university
  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