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: cold · field · jam · staff · content · bat · pit · scale

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bat — the animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pit — in a race
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cold — not warm
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — a subject
  14. staff — a stick
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. field — farmland
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. scale — in music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. staff — employees
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pit — a hole

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