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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — farmland
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — from crying
  8. can — to be able to
  9. tube — a container
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — to crush
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — child
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. field — for sport
  24. squash — the sport

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