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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cue — a hint
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — in sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. rash — a series
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — crushed
  14. file — a document
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cue — a signal
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. file — a tool
  22. cue — for pool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. season — of the year

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