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: drill · ground · pit · lie · tear · track · spell · pitcher

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. track — to keep track
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. drill — army training
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. track — a song
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spell — letters
  19. pit — a hole
  20. tear — from crying
  21. drill — the tool
  22. track — a path
  23. ground — a position
  24. pit — in a race

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