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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — a subject
  4. march — the month
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. march — the month
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — music
  14. snap — to click
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stock — goods
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lie — to recline

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