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 · row · kid · fall · chair · content · rest · bear

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. content — happy
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rest — a break
  16. bear — the animal
  17. content — the amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fall — the season
  24. row — a line

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