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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. court — of law
  4. scale — in music
  5. rock — music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of a king
  9. scale — size or range
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spell — magic
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spell — a short time
  23. sharp — clever
  24. swing — music

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