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: band · perch · kid · cold · chip · dip · row · lean

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — an illness
  3. row — a line
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kid — child
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — not warm
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. band — a ring
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lean — thin
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. row — to paddle
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — the Cold War

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