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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. current — electric
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — child
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — to tease
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — in football
  23. current — happening now
  24. cold — not warm

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