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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mug — a cup
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stem — to come from
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fall — the season
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tube — the underground
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tube — in a tire

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