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

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — to come down
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. key — in music
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. key — for a lock
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. land — ground
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. land — a country
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. squash — the sport

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