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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. kid — child
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pop — soda
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — for catching
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. degree — temperature
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pop — music
  18. net — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pop — to visit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — an amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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