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: stick · chest · pitch · bowl · race · cold · pit · can

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. can — to be able to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chest — a box
  13. race — humankind
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — a contest
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cold — not warm

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