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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. tear — to rip
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — a coil
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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