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 116 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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — help
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tube — the underground
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tube — a container
  19. drill — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — army training

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