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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. prune — to trim
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mate — a partner
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. content — happy
  18. kid — child
  19. squash — to crush
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — a friend
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — an injury

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