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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. game — wild animals
  4. band — a music group
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bore — to tire
  17. hand — help
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stem — a stem cell

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