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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pop — soda
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to click
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — a straw man

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