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: lash · cold · hand · content · mug · jam · rush · chest

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rush — hurry
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mug — a face
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. hand — help
  17. content — happy
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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