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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chip — to eat
  4. kid — child
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. net — in sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. file — a line of people
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mug — a cup
  13. file — a document
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. degree — from a university
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — temperature
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kid — to tease
  22. degree — an amount
  23. file — a tool
  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