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 120 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — in music
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — to tease
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rash — a series
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. band — a ring
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a music group
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bear — the animal

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