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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. rest — what's left
  3. suit — to fit
  4. tube — a container
  5. suit — clothes
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — the season
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — of water
  13. wake — a trail
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rest — a break
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tube — the underground
  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