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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — an illness
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — tied together
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bound — certain
  9. bass — the fish
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — newspapers
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bass — low music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. press — to push

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