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: race · bear · pitch · face · foot · jam · date · cold

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to point toward
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitch — completely
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bear — the animal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bear — the animal
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. face — part of the head
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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