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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a match
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. chest — of your body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. last — final
  19. bank — of a river
  20. squash — to crush
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bank — for money
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bank — for money

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