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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pitch — completely
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — shares
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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