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: kid · cell · nail · board · squash · swing · shower · spell

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. squash — to crush
  3. board — to get on
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — letters
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cell — a phone
  8. shower — rain
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kid — to tease
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. board — a committee
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — to play on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. swing — music
  18. spell — magic
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spell — a short time
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — in biology

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