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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. chip — to eat
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cold — the Cold War

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