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 · firm · ball · wound · lash · cold · pit · cell

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. game — a match
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. firm — steady
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pit — in a race
  7. firm — a company
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. firm — decided
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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