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 · ball · squash · rush · charge · wound · pitcher · cold

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. charge — a price
  5. rush — hurry
  6. charge — in control
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. charge — electricity
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — an illness
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ball — a dance
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ball — a great time

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