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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — music
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — an illness
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. roll — a list
  14. content — happy
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. swing — to play on

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