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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — in sport
  10. fall — the season
  11. kid — child
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — for catching
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — a series
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. net — after costs

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