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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. present — the time now
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kid — to tease
  8. last — to go on
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. deal — to handle
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chest — of your body
  14. present — a gift
  15. chip — to eat
  16. last — final
  17. present — there
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pit — in a race
  20. last — finally
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — in music

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