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: game · kid · tear · cue · clip · temple · band · rash

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a signal
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. band — a music group
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cue — for pool
  15. game — a match
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cue — a hint
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rash — a series

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