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: kid · squash · pit · rule · perch · cold · bat · bear

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kid — child
  11. pit — in a race
  12. squash — to crush
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rule — a law
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pit — a hole
  24. rule — government

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