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 124 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cold — an illness
  14. shower — rain
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. squash — the sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rash — a series
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mate — a partner
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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