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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — child
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — of water
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — the season
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — humankind
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. race — a contest
  24. bat — for baseball

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