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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hand — help
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. hand — in cards
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — humankind
  12. branch — a division
  13. row — a line
  14. current — of water
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — happening now
  21. race — a contest
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. current — electric
  24. squash — the vegetable

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