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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rest — a break
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spell — letters
  17. snap — to click
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. rest — what's left
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spell — a short time

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