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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chip — for betting
  4. spell — magic
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kid — child
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. band — a ring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a music group
  24. bear — to put up with

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