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 120 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: kick · degree · cell · pit · ball · clip · last · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. last — finally
  3. pit — in a race
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. last — final
  7. ball — a dance
  8. degree — from a university
  9. clip — a video
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. last — to go on
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — a phone
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kick — in football
  24. pit — a hole

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