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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. field — a subject
  16. spell — letters
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — farmland
  22. court — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. court — of a king

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