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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — the animal
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fine — high quality
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. press — to push
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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