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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rock — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — final
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rock — a stone
  15. band — a music group
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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