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: squash · snap · tear · cold · swing · scale · kid · ball

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. snap — to click
  11. squash — to crush
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. swing — in golf
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — an illness
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. ball — a great time
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — child

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