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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. can — a tin
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chest — of your body
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. patient — a sick person

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