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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kid — to tease
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rash — a series
  9. drill — a practice
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cold — not warm
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. rash — hasty
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stand — to bear
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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