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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. field — a subject
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — an amount
  15. field — for sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bat — the animal
  18. season — of the year
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — temperature

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