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: kid · saw · cap · spring · fan · club · bat · patient

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — of water
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kid — child
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — a lid
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cap — a hat
  24. patient — a sick person

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