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: rest · pit · cold · lash · file · object · spell · bound

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rest — a break
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bound — certain
  16. spell — magic
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. rest — what's left
  22. object — to protest
  23. pit — in a race
  24. lash — an eyelash

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