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: chest · wake · net · pit · cell · tear · bass · content

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — in sport
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. content — happy
  12. net — after costs
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. net — for catching
  17. pit — a hole
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bass — low music
  21. content — the amount
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chest — a box
  24. bass — the instrument

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