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 124 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: arm · charge · trunk · bat · kid · game · cue · patient

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cue — a signal
  4. game — a match
  5. kid — child
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cue — a hint
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. charge — electricity
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. charge — in control
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. game — wild animals

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