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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lean — thin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in biology
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stem — to come from

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