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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pop — music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rash — a series
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. sharp — clever

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