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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · hand · saw · kid · bulb · file · bear · game

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. game — a match
  14. bulb — for light
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. game — wild animals
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hand — help
  21. bear — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — part of the body

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