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 116 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: pitcher · chair · bowl · wound · kid · fork · land · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. land — a country
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — to come down
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. land — ground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pitcher — a jug

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