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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pop — music
  7. lean — thin
  8. court — of a king
  9. snap — to click
  10. hand — in cards
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pop — soda
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. court — of law
  22. hand — help
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. court — for sport

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