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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — for pool
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — child
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cue — a signal
  13. march — music
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stock — shares
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chest — a box
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cue — a hint
  23. stock — goods
  24. row — to paddle

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