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: hand · kick · wave · stem · race · tube · kid · bat

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. kid — child
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kick — in football
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. race — a contest
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — in cards
  21. race — humankind
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — help
  24. bat — in an idiom

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