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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ground — a position
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ground — crushed
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. squash — to crush
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rash — a series
  17. ground — the earth
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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