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: squash · vault · bore · kid · content · chair · wake · shower

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. squash — to crush
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — rain
  6. bore — to drill
  7. kid — child
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. vault — a safe
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chair — a leader
  16. squash — the sport
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bore — to tire
  22. content — the amount
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — to tease

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