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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. race — a contest
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kid — child
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. band — a ring
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. deal — to handle
  13. hand — in cards
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a music group
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. lean — thin

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