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: kid · cell · cold · club · mug · race · bore · chip

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. race — a contest
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mug — a cup
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. club — for dancing
  15. kid — child
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chip — for betting
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bore — to drill
  23. club — for golf
  24. cell — in biology

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