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 120 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fine — all right
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. kid — child
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — high quality
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — to tease
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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