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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — child
  4. bore — to drill
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. land — to come down
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — ground
  11. hand — help
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to click
  14. kid — to tease
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. last — finally
  24. land — a country

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