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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. court — of a king
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rule — government
  7. snap — to click
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. court — for sport
  12. row — a line
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bass — low music
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — to push
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of law
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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