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: arm · kid · cold · firm · pit · date · degree · bore

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — an illness
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bore — to drill
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — temperature
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. firm — a company
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. firm — steady
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cold — not warm
  19. degree — an amount
  20. firm — decided
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. pit — a hole
  24. date — on the calendar

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