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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — to rob
  21. snap — to click
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mug — a face
  24. kid — to tease

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