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 124 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. rule — a law
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. rule — government
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. arm — a part of something
  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