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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ball — a great time
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. race — a contest
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. kid — child
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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