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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pit — in a race
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tube — a container
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pit — a hole
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rock — a stone
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rock — music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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