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: kid · can · deal · bat · rash · spell · object · hand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. object — an aim
  5. rash — a series
  6. object — a thing
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rash — hasty
  11. can — to be able to
  12. spell — letters
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. object — to protest
  18. can — a tin
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. deal — a big deal

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