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: pitch · spell · fine · cold · tube · cell · chest · season

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tube — a container
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spell — letters
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — a box

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