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: squash · staff · perch · track · kid · hand · wind · mate

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — a friend
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mate — to breed
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. track — a song
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mate — a partner
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wind — moving air
  18. track — a path
  19. staff — a stick
  20. squash — to crush
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — employees
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. hand — part of the body

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