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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stem — to come from
  3. present — a gift
  4. game — a match
  5. present — the time now
  6. game — wild animals
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bound — obliged
  9. season — in sport
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. file — a document
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — a kind of play

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