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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — moving air
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fan — a supporter

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