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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · fall · pitch · race · pitcher · bark · pit · row

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — a match
  7. pit — a hole
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. row — a line
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. race — humankind
  19. pit — in a race
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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