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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. stem — to come from
  5. face — to point toward
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. face — to confront
  8. lean — thin
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — low music
  17. lean — to bend
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — the fish
  24. file — a document

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