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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. 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. chest — a box
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pit — in a race
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — army training
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a document
  23. scale — in music
  24. 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