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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cue — a hint
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. court — of law
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. court — for sport
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. land — to come down
  18. drill — army training
  19. season — of the year
  20. drill — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — a weight
  24. land — a country

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