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 120 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: swing · tear · key · cold · race · bore · kid · patient

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. race — a contest
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. key — in music
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. swing — in golf
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bore — to drill
  14. swing — to play on
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — the arms race
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — music

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