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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — a signal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spring — of water
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cue — for pool
  11. branch — a division
  12. cue — a hint
  13. clip — to cut
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — obliged
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bound — certain
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — a video
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. spring — the season

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