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: suit · craft · pitch · lash · saw · net · patient · cold

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — an illness
  3. suit — to fit
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — a skill
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. suit — in cards
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. craft — boats
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. suit — clothes
  24. craft — a handicraft

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