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: plane · squash · tear · patient · season · kid · hand · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — help
  6. kid — to tease
  7. hand — in cards
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. season — in sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. season — of the year
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. plane — a tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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