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 120 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: snap · bat · stick · mug · tube · squash · field · chair

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — a container
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mug — a face
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to click
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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