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: hand · toast · fall · season · tube · chest · kid · rest

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rest — a break
  4. chest — of your body
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. kid — child
  8. chest — a box
  9. season — of the year
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rest — what's left
  15. season — in sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fall — the season
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tube — a container
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  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