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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pass — a permit
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kid — child
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rash — a series
  24. game — wild animals

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