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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — humankind
  9. bore — to drill
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kid — child
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bore — to tire
  18. band — a ring
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — the sport
  24. race — a contest

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