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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. face — to confront
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kid — child
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. face — to point toward
  21. game — a match
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tube — a container

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