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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bank — of a river
  3. scale — in music
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rest — what's left
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. scale — size or range
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bank — for money
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bank — for money
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — for weighing

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