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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — child
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — the earth
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. ground — a position
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kid — to tease
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rash — a series
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bat — in an idiom

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