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 116 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. drill — the tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cell — in biology
  21. capital — money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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