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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a document
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — part of the head
  7. game — a match
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — to confront
  11. tube — a container
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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