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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spell — magic
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kid — child
  6. stand — to bear
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — letters
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bank — of a river
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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