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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — a subject
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — farmland
  16. rash — hasty
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — the season

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