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: firm · last · clip · pit · jam · cold · chest · craft

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chest — a box
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chest — of your body
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chest — of your body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — to go on
  15. craft — boats
  16. firm — a company
  17. pit — in a race
  18. last — finally
  19. cold — an illness
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. firm — decided
  22. last — final
  23. firm — steady
  24. clip — a video

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