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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. date — the fruit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. kid — to tease
  11. game — a match
  12. bass — the fish
  13. kick — in football
  14. chest — a box
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. season — in sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mate — a friend
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — of your body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. season — of the year

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