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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. present — a gift
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — there
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — child
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. present — the time now
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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