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: hide · pitch · cold · net · lie · march · pitcher · bore

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lie — to recline
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. net — for catching
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. net — in sport

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