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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mate — a partner
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — a video
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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