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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ball — a dance
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. snap — to click
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tear — from crying

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