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: last · pit · chest · rule · pitcher · fork · cold · cabinet

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chest — a box
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pit — in a race
  15. last — finally
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. last — to go on
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — final
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chest — of your body

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