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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — a contest
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — for catching
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — in sport
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. spell — letters
  11. net — after costs
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. snap — to click
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rule — government
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. race — humankind
  21. spell — magic
  22. race — the arms race
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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