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: chair · tear · swing · land · ball · pop · kid · cap

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. land — ground
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — soda
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — music
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — of ice
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. swing — music

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