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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cold — not warm
  4. object — to protest
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rock — a stone
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — a thing
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. object — an aim
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spell — a short time
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. stem — of a plant

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