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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. firm — steady
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — to go on
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. firm — decided
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hand — help
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — a phone
  21. mine — for digging
  22. kid — child
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. firm — a company

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