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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chest — a box
  10. race — humankind
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cue — a hint
  14. pit — in a race
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pit — a hole
  24. straw — a straw man

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