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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. drill — the tool
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a hint
  9. squash — the sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — not warm
  13. charge — electricity
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. charge — a price
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chest — a box
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. drill — army training
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — a signal

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