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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. game — a match
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pop — music

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