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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. swing — in golf
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tear — to rip
  22. swing — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pop — soda

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