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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kid — child
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cell — in biology
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — a country
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cap — a lid
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cell — a phone
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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