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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — a box
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — help
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wind — moving air

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