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: pit · chest · net · tear · leaves · kid · pop · degree

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kid — child
  4. pit — in a race
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. net — for catching
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pop — music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — from a university
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. net — after costs
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. degree — temperature
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. chest — of your body
  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