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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bound — tied together
  4. chip — to eat
  5. stem — to come from
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bound — obliged
  12. chip — for betting
  13. row — a line
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bound — certain
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. tube — the underground
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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