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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pop — soda
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — a short time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pop — music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spell — letters
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — child

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