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: deal · chair · file · pitch · cold · pop · straw · bay

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pop — soda
  13. file — a tool
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chair — a leader
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. file — a document

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