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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — a break
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of a king
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. key — for a lock
  17. tube — a container
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of law
  20. row — a line
  21. court — for sport
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. key — in music

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