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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pit — in a race
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pit — a hole
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fine — high quality
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. saw — the tool
  24. perch — the fish

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