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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — magic
  6. bound — certain
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — a subject
  9. bound — obliged
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — a permit
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bound — tied together
  22. field — for sport
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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