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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — child
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. season — in sport
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — a country
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tube — the underground
  23. kid — to tease
  24. degree — an amount

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